Put First Things First
by EarlyMorningWriter
Summary: (Part 2 of a 7 part series) President Michener looks to our founding fathers to decide how to rebuild and make the US better than ever. But new challenges, from within and beyond our borders, force the crew of the Nathan James and the civilian survivors of the Great Red Flu to work together to chart a new course for the United States.
1. Chapter 1 - Ragged Old Flag

Happy 241st Birthday Army!

 ****Ragged Old Flag, Johnny Cash****

 _Prologue_

 _June 13, 2015_

Sergeant Garth Simpson-Slattery eyed the front of the car dealership contemplating how to properly lower the 30 foot long flag currently waving 90 feet above his head. When Major Velasquez had offered their company's services to President Michener, he was pretty sure this wasn't the kind of engineering challenge he'd had in mind. He walked around the pole studying the pulley system. There wasn't a winch or a cam or anything, terrible design. He had a feeling that on a windy day like this, if he released the rope, the flag would simply sail away.

"Findley, Chan, find me a vehicle with a winch on it. The heavier the better." He watched as they fanned out, jogging through the car lot looking for a jeep or utility truck of some kind. He made another circle of the flagpole, scowling. Commander Slattery probably recommended them specifically for this task thinking they couldn't get it done in time for the birthday cake ceremony tomorrow. Ha, too bad he didn't know Velasquez was known for pushing his people to get projects done "ahead of schedule and under budget." Want a bridge to get an armored vehicle across a ravine and on its way to a remote Pakistani cave? Been there, done that. Need a dam rebuilt two months before the monsoon season hits southern Iraq? Yep, they could do that. Airfield bombed yesterday but needed today? Sure. Hell, those Navy gits probably didn't realize that the only reason they could get their over priced tin cans in and out of Norfolk was because the Corps of Engineers was out there dredging the channel 365 days a year, not to mention maintaining the shipping channel for everyone else, dealing with contaminated sediment, and rebuilding the oyster habitat.

Michener at least seemed to have a decent appreciation of history. For the last five months the new combined military, the USCF as they were calling it, had been working to spread the cure. But Michener had also tasked them with rebuilding the US and re-establishing diplomatic relations with other countries. He'd called for a Fourth Continental Congress to assemble and vote on many key topics, including a temporary budget and authorization for payment of USCF personnel.

Tomorrow, June 14th, was supposed to be the beginning of the congressional assembly. Teams from the Nathan James and other active units had been collecting and escorting delegates to St. Louis for months and they were only three people away from a quorum now. Michener had decided the kickoff needed to be festive and fun but also showcase their continued military strength. When he'd summoned Major Velasquez and Garth this morning he'd opened with a question. "Do you know what the first act of the Second Continental Congress was?" Garth knew, they had authorized the continental Army. Michener had gone on to say that convening the congress was important internally but also as a show to foreign powers that the US was not a defenseless sitting duck.

Velasquez's ordinance team had already done a great job planning the fireworks. Somehow Commander Green had located enough people for a fife and drum band and Velasquez had sent a team to Fort Leonard Wood to collect the traditional uniforms of the ages. Garth was quite proud to be assigned a very attractive 1880's era cavalry uniform. His wife had spent all week carefully polishing the fittings and steaming the decorative gold braid. The Navy chefs had begrudgingly agreed to bake the Army's traditional birthday cake. When a tiff about who would cut the cake had erupted, given that the oldest person they had, Master Chief Jeter, was Navy, the President had decreed that the first person to enlist in the USCF, a kid by the name of Ray, would cut the cake instead. But despite all those plans, the president had not been satisfied. "This will be televised and news around the world. Our known and potential enemies and allies will be seeing it. I can't have that run down flag on top of the Courthouse building. Can your people do something about it?"

And so Garth found himself commandeering a flag from a used car lot along Route 44. As he waited for Chan and Findley to return he contemplated the flag. They were going to need to take down the rope too, to restring the flagpole on top of the Old Courthouse. After nearly a year of neglect the only thing remaining of the old flag was a few strips of tattered nylon. He already had two men working on opening the access panel in the courthouse roof. Unfortunately, in the chaotic aftermath of the Red Flu, most of the keys for the historic building had been lost too. Add locksmith service to the long list of skills his people were currently providing.

But he sighed, they weren't going to be able to pull this one off on their own. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "Sergeant Simpson, how's it going with the flag?" Commander Kara Foster-Green's level voice made him smile. If only all the brass was as nice as her. He supposed the fact that his wife had known Foster-Green for years didn't hurt.

"It's Simpson-Slattery Ma'am."

"Last I heard the commander had not yet approved of that name Sergeant." He could hear the note of teasing in her voice. By now everyone was making fun of his name but he still refused to change it. His wife liked it that way so that was the way it was going to be whether the Commander approved or not. He didn't mind the teasing from Kara though, given how much confusion her change to Green had turned out to be for everyone.

"It's going along well so far Ma'am, but I'm calling to request some manpower. If we're going to do this right we need 20 to 30 people down here ASAP. Can you find us some recruits?" He really didn't need to ask if she could find them. Everyone knew that nothing happened in St. Louis without Commander Foster-Green knowing.

"Hum, do you need skilled people or just hands to get the job done?"

Garth thought about it. "I just need some physically fit people to hold the flag up off the ground as it comes down. It might not look it, but it's about thirty by twenty feet in size. That much fabric is heavy and it's going to sag a lot so it's the number of people that's important. High school students would do if we can round up enough of them."

He heard her shuffling papers in the background. "Now where did I put that sched..Oh yes. Can it wait half an hour? Master Chief is screening a bunch of new recruits over at the ball park this morning. I can ask him to send 30 candidates over and we can see how well they take direction." She sounded hopeful. "I'd like to come see this for myself."

"Thirty guys in half an hour would be great. And Ma'am, you should stay put. You don't want to trek all the way out here when you're already a week past your due date. If you're still going strong tomorrow you can come out to see us raise the flag and have the Army's birthday cake. Maybe the blank rounds going off the Nathan James at noon can scare the kid out."

She laughed. "Birthday cake? I didn't know the Army had a birthday party too?"

Garth chuckled. Kara was one of the few people who he felt comfortable ribbing about Army-Navy rivalry. "We invented it Ma'am, six months before the Navy even existed."

She just huffed a little "Well, we're all one now. But if there's going to be cake, I don't care whose it is, I'm in. I will hold out for the flag ceremony tomorrow. Besides, my back has been sore all day. Your wife warned me that by the end I would just want this baby out, but I think he's still waiting for his Daddy to get home."

"Still no word Ma'am?" In the distance he heard Chan call out. "Found one."

"No." There was a heavy weight to her voice that he wasn't used to hearing from Foster-Green. She was usually one of the most confident people under pressure. "The last news we had was from the delegates that came back from San Diego on the ship with your father-in-law last week. So, the best we know is that they were alive and doing something they thought was important about five weeks ago." He really felt for her. He knew his wife worried when he was TDY, and since they had married his trips were very well defined missions and rarely in communication silence. But Green's team had been hundreds of miles into enemy territory and all they could do here was wait for the team to reach out.

He felt pretty ineffective saying it but he thought she should know. "Well, when that baby decides to make an appearance, you know the rest of us are here to help."

"Thanks Sergeant. I appreciate it. Please tell Riley thank you again for the diaper covers she sent over last week. I can't believe the twins have grown out of a size already! It seems like they were just born last night!" Tell him about it. Three months and he still hadn't caught up on his sleep. "I'll get those puppies sent over right away. You want them to bring any equipment?"

He eyed the flatbed truck parked at the edge of the sales lot. "Nope, we've got what we need here."

Twenty minutes later several SUVs pulled into the lot and young men and women dressed in PT gear began spilling out. A slightly older man, whose close cropped hair, fitness, and aura of confidence indicated he either had some prior service or was in law enforcement directed them to wait by the cars while he approached Garth. He eyed Garth's sleeve before standing at attention. "Sergeant, I am Retired Specialist Jason Huges. I have brought with me 28 recruits ready to assist in the flag lowering and transportation."

Eying the young people milling about the cars, Garth was glad they had sent at least one other person with some idea of how things worked. He wondered if he looked that young and scared when he first enlisted. "Specialist huh, I requested 30 but you know the Navy, always a day late and a dollar short."

The older man's face split in a wide grin. "I thought for sure you were going to go with you know the squids, first ones there, first ones to fuck it up."

Garth chuckled and stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you Specialist. Y'all just sign up yesterday?"

The other man nodded. "We did. Can't say we are a team yet, but we're happy to do whatever we can." Garth called them all over and told them what he needed. In no time they had the flag down, folded, and tied onto the truck. As they headed back into the downtown district he chatted to Specialist Huges. "Can't say I've ever worked with Sappers before." The other man was saying. "You guys really know how to get things done. Too bad my area of expertise is in linguistics so Master Chief said he thought I'd probably be traveling with the Navy."

Garth tried not to smile gleefully and utterly failed. "You be sure to mention you were impressed with me when you meet Commander Slattery."

This is a prologue for a new story. Stay tuned to find out more about who Simpson-Slattery is; how Kara moves up to Commander; and why Michener must convene a congress so urgently.


	2. Chapter 2 - Meet Me With Your

I asked my DH to tell me what other guys said to him before we had kids. We agreed that the usual "You can't even imagine how your life is about to change." is pretty lame. But then we tried to describe how it changes and we couldn't quite do it. Neither of us can really remember what it was like before kids anymore. We remember how we used to spend our free time...oh free time you splendid precious thing that I used to waste like there was no tomorrow...but we can't remember what we thought about and felt before kids. Sleep deprivation, keeping track of everyone's schedules, endless laundry, and still remembering to brush your teeth at least twice a day will do that to you.

 ****Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On, Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham****

"Congratulations man." Burk slapped Danny on the shoulder. "I don't know what you were waiting for."

Tex stroked his gray beard. "Well, Thank God you finally did it. At the rate you were going I thought you'd be on your third kid before you asked her."

Kara grinned at Tex "Oh no. This is a one time deal. Pregnancy is miserable. Why does anyone ever do this a second time?"

Tex smiled ruefully. "Two reasons, one you will be so in love with your kid the moment you see them that you will immediately want a whole passel of them. Two, by the time they are one years old you will be so sleep deprived that when you finally get some adult time by yourselves, you will forget all about how you got this one in the first place." The tipsy group laughed and the fathers among them nodded at Tex's sage wisdom. Danny wondered if what Tex said was true. He hadn't expected to have any kids, never mind lots of them. But when he looked at Kara all round and soft the way she was now, he thought about it, a lot.

Kara stifled a yawn as she looked around the hotel lobby. The inauguration party was beginning to wind down. Many of the officers had already gone off to bed. The lights had been dimmed for more intimate conversations. The President and Commander Chandler had settled into a nook off to one side for what looked like an intense conversation. Several young ensigns and enlisted were setting up a drinking game at a collection of couches to their left. Danny saw Kara shifting back and forth as if her feet hurt and he knew she'd been ready for bed hours ago. She leaned into his side a little more.

"Come on, I think it's long past the point when leaving would be rude." He felt her give a warm shiver as he spoke into her ear.

"I agree, please tell me that Engineer Rho got the elevators working because I am dead on my feet."

Danny took her hand and placed it in his elbow, careful to follow every regulation to a T in public. "Come on. If the elevator isn't working I'll carry you."

She laughed softly, and he understood that she was trying not to draw attention to the fact that they were leaving together. Although their relationship was common knowledge now, it still felt odd to openly be a couple. Chandler had asked them to keep it professional when on duty. And, although this was a party, they were still in uniform which made it still feel a little weird.

Once in the hallway she stopped and slipped off her shiny black shoes. Her audible sigh of relief brought a smile to Danny's lips. "Feel better?"

"Yes, Andrea warned me that I would grow a shoe size but I didn't really believe her. I guess I should have. Tomorrow I'm going to have to ask if anyone has an idea where I can find a larger pair of regulation shoes or ask Chandler if he can give me a waiver to substitute something else." Danny punched the elevator button and eyed the small red triangle lit up on the door frame. "I'm going to take that a good sign, but if the elevator doesn't show, I don't think you should carry me."

He leaned back on the wall between the two sets of metal doors. "Why not? Doubting my abilities again Foster?"

At that she threw her head back and laughed out loud. He loved it when she laughed so freely. "Never again. No, It's just that I'm like two people now and it is six floors."

It was his turn to grin. "Well, you may be two people now, but you're both tiny and I'm pretty sure I can make it, but if it worries you that much, I could commandeer a 1st floor room for you instead." Now she was just being ridiculous. He could carry Burk up the stairs if the situation called for it.

When she smiled at him this time, it took his breath away. After all of the shitty things that had happened in the last four months, this one perfect thing made it all ok. He was scared out of his mind about the future but he knew one thing with absolute certainty. He loved this woman and he was excited to make a life with her. He would do anything to keep her, and soon their child, safe and happy. She was standing by the stairs, holding out her hand. "Come on sailor. I need the exercise and.." She leaned in and lowered her voice once more. "I think we need more privacy than the first floor can provide."

Five minutes later he ducked through the door between their suites. Chandler's answer to the issue of sleeping quarters had been to have them assigned adjoining rooms and warn them that they were expected to act professionally in public, which suited Danny just fine. After all that time at sea, having all this space to themselves was positively decadent. Halsey shot across through the doorway without so much as a head butt in greeting as he went to check on Kara. He heard her cluck at the dog from where she was sitting on the sofa removing her shoes. "Hey boy! Come up here and say good evening!"

"I thought we agreed that one would be the fur-free couch!" He called as he tucked his dress shoes into a pair of panty hose he used to protect them from scuffing when he wasn't wearing them.

"He's on the floor!" He smiled and headed into his bathroom to brush his teeth. Ha. The minute that damn dog figured out that was where Kara liked to sit, he'd be all over that spot the second she left the room.

He returned from changing and brushing his teeth to find her right where he left her except now her head had flopped onto the back of the couch and she was snoring lightly, a shoe in one hand, and the other laying protectively over her tiny baby bump with the slightest glint of sparkle reflecting back at him as she breathed in and out. He pulled out his phone and took a short video of her as proof that she'd begun snoring lately. Figuring his plans for the rest of the evening were shot, he bent to undo the other shoe. He had just placed it with its mate under the end table when he heard the shot. Kara's head jerked forward. "Was that?"

He and the dog sprang into action, adrenaline surging. It had sounded like it came from the floor above, to the west end of the building. Double checking the locks on her door and then striding toward his own little efficiency kitchen he called over his shoulder. "It certainly sounded like it."


	3. Chapter 3 - Hate To See You Go

Can't wait for tonight!

**Hate To See You Go, Little Walter**

Kat sat wearily in a folding chair in the corner of the room. When Commander Garnett had asked if she'd like to help with a little project this morning, she'd had no idea what the woman had in mind. But after a few days bumming around her hotel room she'd been pretty bored anyway. She wished her father would let her live at the university dorm where she heard many of the other young people were, but he refused to be parted for any length of time so she was stuck in a giant hotel all day. She was glad she still had her mother's laptop. She had a feeling that if she told her dad she was able to make some kind of satellite internet connection with it and talk to kids from all over, he'd take that thing away immediately.

"There you are!" Her father joined her in the corner. He had cut his hair a little more again and to her eyes he was nearly the most handsome man in the room. "I hear you had a hand in some of this." He half turned to indicate the ballroom. Most of the party had broken up at this late hour but Lieutenant Nishioka was playing tunes and some of the night owls were still dancing.

The lobby and banquet room of the Raddison had been decorated as best they could do on short notice. She and Garnett and Alicia Granderson had been able to round up some red, white and blue streamers from the Nathan James. Some of Bacon's kitchen staff had located the hotel's white table cloths and finer dinnerware and set the tables instead of stacking up trays from the Nathan James. And a woman in judge robes, who she now knew as Judge Siskin from the inauguration that afternoon, had showed up with a box of candles and ribbon and fake flowers she said were left over from family a wedding a few years ago. Once finished, the candle light gleamed on the polished surfaces giving everything a golden glow.

"Yeah, I had nothing better to do so..." She shrugged. Maybe her dad would get the hint and give her a job or something. She'd asked Lieutenant Granderson today if she had any jobs available and she'd said no, they couldn't have people under 18 on the ship except in dire circumstances. She'd suggested asking Lieutenant Foster for a job on the office side of things but that was exactly the kind of thing Kat was trying to avoid. She wanted to do the things she used to do, or at least get out and see something new.

The music changed to something more uptempo and the dance floor opened to everyone else. "Still got your moves?" He dad's eyes sparkled as he held out a hand to her. She suddenly remembered the last time he'd been home. Her mother was supposed to chaperon her middle school dance but had to bail for a work thing. Her dad had taken her place and totally embarrassed her in front of her friends by breaking out some old fashioned disco moves. Well, it had been embarrassing at the time. Now she would gladly dance the can-can if it kept him close by.

"Yeah, I think I can manage not to embarrass myself." She took his hand and he slid an arm around her waist. She wondered if all dad's hands felt warm and leathery and comforting as hers. Her mom had some boyfriends the last few years but she'd never felt safe and relaxed around them the way she did with her dad. They found a spot on the edge of the floor and her dad gave her a swirl. She'd missed being silly and laughing with her dad. "Wish I'd known there was going to be a party." She remarked. I would have brought something more appropriate to wear.

"You look beautiful anyway. More like your mother than I remember." The crinkles stood out around her dad's eyes and she was tempted to say that he looked older than she remembered in response. But she was afraid it would hurt his feelings, even though she didn't mean it that way.

"Well, you wouldn't want your girl to have inherited those wrinkles and gray hair, would you?" She quipped. Her dad threw his head back and laughed drawing looks from around them.

"Well at least you got my sense of humor." They shared a smile. Her mother had been the serious one in the family. "So, I have a question for you." although still smiling she could see her dad had turned serious. "What do you think we should do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do you want me to take you back to Cort's place in Jackson? Do you want to go somewhere else? I could take you to Nevada, see if Grandma's still kickin'?" Her heart constricted in panic and she gripped his hand tighter. She wasn't going anywhere. She'd managed to meet up with her dad and like it or not, he wasn't getting rid of her now."

"Where are you going? She countered.

She saw the moment what she was asking clicked. "Nowhere!" He took both her hands and held them in his, stopped in the middle of the dance floor. "I will be right here in St. Louis, or working out of St. Louis I suppose. I don't really know yet. But where ever you want to make your home, that will be my home too."

"Commander Garnett says you are a hero. That if it wasn't for you Dr. Scott wouldn't have been able to make the cure and share it." She glanced over to where Garnett was laughing with several other officers. "Is it true Dad?" She had already forgiven him. And she would every time he went away. But if this was true, maybe she would feel happier, knowing the world had people like him out there, looking out for everyone, instead of feeling like she wasn't good enough to have a dad at home.

He lead her off the dance floor to a table on the side and sat her down facing him. "I won't lie to you. My work hasn't always been heroism and saving the day. But it's always been part of making the world a better place for you, and your mother, and the people we loved." His eyes were warm and sincere. If he had come back and said those words to her a year ago she would have accused him of saying it just to win her over. But now, now that she'd seen brutality and cruelty up close, the fact that someone had been out there, sacrificing their own time with their family, risking health and wellbeing to make it better, well that meant something.

"Dad, I know your work is important and I don't want to get in the way of it now. I want to help you." She implored him to understand with her eyes. "Mom would have never wanted you to give up either. She always told me I was too hard on you when I moaned and groaned about you missing things. And she told me I'd understand when I was older." Now the hurt was different. Instead of thinking he didn't want to be with them, her heart ached to think he might get hurt or die without the people who loved him close by.

He gave a rueful smile. "You know your mother wasn't really just a truck dispatcher, right?"

"Yeah. She told me all about it when she took me to Cort's about four months ago. And I understand why you were away so much now. I won't mind if you have to go away again. I'll miss you." She felt the grief for her mother's death well up inside her. "But I'll be brave. And I'll be proud of you."

Her father squeezed her hand and dropped his head a moment, taking a deep breath. It felt strange, having this conversation while everyone was laughing and carefree around them. But it had to be said. She had to say it. She felt like she was stepping out a doorway, moving into a new part of life and she needed her dad to know he could do the same. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He reassured her. "So you want to stay with me, wherever I am based then?"

"Yes I do." She leaned over and bumped shoulders with him, letting her head rest on his shoulder like she had when she was a little girl. She felt some of the tension in her own shoulder flow away as he put an arm around her shoulders. She hadn't realized until this moment how much she had been worrying about what would happen next. Attempting to lighten the mood she released him and gave him a cheeky grin. "But you need to let me have some freedom during the day. I am going crazy staying in this hotel. Pretty soon I'm going to start working in the kitchens just for something to do."

"Ok, Ok. I can't say when we're going to have any kind of school up and running." He ran a hand through his gray hair. "But I'll try to find something for you to do tomorrow." He looked a little pained when he asked "What do you do for fun now? The last time I was living at home you still played with dolls, but I've got to imagine those days are over."

Kat realized then that her father was embarrassed to have to ask. Still, she was touched that he asked at all. "Well, I got back into horses while mom and I were at Cort's place. All those lessons in my younger years really did come back just like riding a bike. And I write a lot. But that's all I've been doing cooped up in that hotel room so I want to do something active, or at least with other people my age."

"Wanna join the Navy?" He glanced toward where Chandler and Michener were deep in conversation a few tables away. "You can pretend for an hour a day. There's a fairly large group that does PT together at 6 AM sharp." He patted his stomach. "I started getting back in shape on the ship."

She thought about the lives her parents had lived. Always apart, always aware of the evil in the world. It wasn't what she wanted. "If I'm getting cabin fever in a hotel room the size of four staterooms I think I'd better find a different career than the Navy."

Tex laughed. "Yeah, I'm not really too keen on shipboard life either. Hopefully we're on track to get back to normal soon. But you can't just wander the city alone. There's still the danger of immunes, not to mention everything else a 17 year old girl should be wary of."

"But if the Red Flu hadn't struck we'd be arguing over whether I should go to Stanford in September or take a gap year. New world or not, I am pretty close to going out on my own anyway."

His eyes crinkled at the mention of his alma mater. "For the record, I would have voted for the gap year. But your mother would have said straight to school. And you know she would have won that." He was right about that. Her mother had been a force to reckon with.

They were quiet for a moment, watching the party wind down. What she really wanted to do was be useful in some way. Help get life back to normal somehow. "Well, maybe this is my chance at a gap year now? You could teach me more about defending myself and I could do my exploring locally? I don't want to twiddle my thumbs all day. I want to do something to help. Besides, I'm going to need to take care of myself when you start traveling again."

He looked her straight in the eye. "This is it Kathleen. Your last chance to be a kid ever again. Can't you just enjoy it and stay safe?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're forgetting whose daughter I am. I saved myself from those bandits that broke into Cort's place. I made it from Jackson to Memphis by myself." As she spoke she watched her father's face. He grimaced at the mention of Cort but his lips perked up as if he was trying to hide his pride when she reminded him that she'd found him, not the other way around.

"I did hear that you handled yourself pretty well that night." They both knew he was talking about the night her mother was killed. "I guess Cort taught you well."

"Dad, you're not jealous of Cort are you?" When he didn't say anything she figured she'd hit a sore spot. All these years she's assumed he'd left her mother but maybe…

"Well, he did get your mother to leave Nevada. I tried and tried but she would never even consider it." He looked heartbroken. The idea swirled in her brain, rooting out painful memories of her parents fighting, of her mother crying while he was on yet another tour somewhere. Suddenly those memories took on a more complex character where her mother wasn't the only victim.

Her father was staring at his shoes. "I was stationed out of Fort Sam for years and years and she refused to move. Said it was important you grow up near Grandma and learn all the traditions, all the old ways." When he glanced up his eyes were glazed, remembering something long ago.

Her heart twisted. If she hadn't forgiven her father the instant she heard him calling out in the crowd in Memphis, she would have in that moment. "You know we moved to Florida to follow a horse."

He cocked his head. "A horse?"

"Yeah, his name was Waha'yoo Taba. She brought us to Florida to train him for racing."

His head jerked up. "Two Suns?" She nodded. "Figures, your mother always did love her horses."

"Besides, Cort might have taught me the mechanics of firing a shotgun, but it was the things you taught me that really saved my ass."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow "Me? The last thing I remember teaching you was how to ride a bike."

She mirrored his incredulous expression "Han shoots first? Move a little strange you're gonna get a bullet? Live your life while you've got a good one."

He laughed out loud. "Ok, Ok. Those are some of my most tried and true rules! But you need a better teacher than me. I'll see what Lieutenant Green is going to set up for training recruits."

That wasn't what she wanted at all. "You did a great job. I'm still alive…" The words died on her lips as a young man in uniform came tearing into the lobby screaming for Doc Rios. "Come quick Doc. Rachel has been shot." The whole place erupted in chaos.


	4. Chapter 4 - Away Down the Alley

As long as there is free will there will be evil in the world. But the strange irony is that as long as there is pain and suffering there will be those who put themselves aside to offer love and comfort to those who need it. I've been thinking about that ever since I saw an image of people in angel costumes with giant wings designed to shield mourners for the Orlando shooting victims from protesters. In the midst of this horrible event there was a beautiful, creative, uplifting act of affirmation and love.

Yesterday was the longest day of the year. I got up at quarter after five to a gray and dreary Monday. I stayed up to watch the season 3 premier the night before and I was cranky and tired and kicking myself for not getting my sleep. And then a few minutes before the sun crept up over the horizon, a rainbow appeared in the West. Coach waved me down and stopped me to see it. I was actually annoyed because of the interruption at first. And then I though you know, there's only so many rainbows. If I'm going to give my attention to something, shouldn't it be the good? There will always be rainstorms. Some will even cause floods. But the rainbows are there just waiting for someone to find the right angle to see them.

**Away Down The Alley, Lonnie Johnson**

Kara heaved herself to her feet as Danny began shoving his feet into a pair of boots. Her brain was playing catchup. There had definitely been a shot but she didn't hear any response. Then again, most people were still down at the party. But the floor above them housed the president's suite as well as Chandler, Jeter, and Dr. Scott's rooms. There were guards stationed at each building entrance so an intruder would either have to blend in with the staff or be one of them. She headed for the other room with Halsey glued to her leg. "Halsey, Go." She commanded and the dog moved away from her to where Danny was collecting a gun and knife from the top of the refrigerator.

"He should stay here with you." His voice was decisive and when he motioned toward her the dog swung his head in her direction, anticipating.

"No." She'd never really conflicted with him about something professional before but she supposed there was a first time for everything. "He needs to do his job, just like you do. I will be fine here." She signaled the dog to follow Danny. He pointed his snout at her questioning the direction for just one more second before trotting to the door.

Danny stared at her for a long minute, weighing the options, and then glanced to the dog. With a tight jaw he acquiesced. "Fine, there's a 9mm in the left drawer of the TV console." He tilted his head to indicate her room. "I know you can handle yourself, but lock the inner door and stay in there until I come back so I don't have to worry any more than necessary." A second later the pair ducked out into the hall.

She took the gun out, loaded it, and brought it into the inner bedroom where it was dark and felt like a completely ordinary wee morning hour after a party. She sat tensely on the side of the bed, the gun beside her under a pillow and one hand idly patting her belly. She was still barely showing but she liked to think of the baby in there, all curled up and cozy, oblivious to the turmoil going on outside.

She had been sleepy before but now adrenaline kept her awake so she looked out the windows at the city. Their room faced the river so most of what they saw was dark. So far power had only been restored to a small section of the inner city and even then, it was being conserved to reduce coal usage so that they wouldn't run out before spring. The pitch dark was unsettling at first, especially knowing there was an urban area over there. She tried to think of it as the sea but that illusion broke down every time the darkness was split by the occasional lights of a car. Somehow knowing there were people out there in the dark made it less calming and safe than the ocean.

For the first few minutes after Danny and Halsey left she heard nothing. Then there was the sound of pounding feet, shouting, and the elevators rising. A door slammed above her, then another, and she realized that they were searching rooms for someone. She closed her eyes tight and hoped Danny was being as safe as possible.

And then she felt something strange. The tinniest little flutter just under her palm. She ceased her patting and thought she must have imagined it. She hadn't felt it with her hand, just inside, like gas bubbles. But then it was there again, just below her belly button. She breathed deep, completely focused internally now, but there was nothing. She closed her eyes and spread both hands over her abdomen. Had she imagined it? She sat perfectly still and waited with each breath, willing it to happen again. Her heart was pounding. She felt it again, in a slightly different spot, but it was definitely a sensation she'd never had before. He had moved! She patted the spot and then immediately wondered if it was like tapping the glass on a fish tank. She didn't want to scare him in there. As soon as all whatever was going on was over she was going to call Dr. Scott and ask her if it really was the baby. "Hello in there." She whispered. "Mama's so excited to feel you!" She listened to footsteps coming up and down the stairs and wondered what was going on out there. She was tempted to go look but she wouldn't, not when she had Flutter to keep safe. "Don't worry. We'll be safe in here."

She didn't want to move and disrupt Flutter's groove, but she was tired and her back was hurting from the lack of support. She shuffled her feet onto the floor intent on retrieving the pillows from the other side of the bed. She figured she could sit with her back to the wall for support until Danny got back. She had just picked up the pillows when she heard the outer door open quietly. Good, he was going to be so excited even if he couldn't feel Flutter himself.

The bedroom door jiggled and then she heard a key in the lock. She froze, heart suddenly pounding. She stopped mid stride and stared toward the door in the dark. Please don't come in, please don't come in. Shit. They didn't have keys for the interior door so whoever it was must have a master. That meant they were either a hotel employee or trouble. She gripped the pillow in front of her as the door swung open quietly and a scrawny man stepped inside the swath of light from the living space. With her eyes already accustomed to the dark she saw him before he even swung his head her way. He was wearing street clothes and she didn't recognize him at all. She had no idea what was going on, but her instincts told her it was nothing good. "Drop your gun, put your hands over your head, and lay down on the floor now." Whoever it was better have a damn good reason for invading her space because she had no patience for anyone interrupting her time with Flutter.

Her voice startled him and he twisted toward her, eyes widening in shock as he found her in the dark. "Look lady, I don't want to hurt anyone, just hide out here until I can leave the building." He held his gun limply at his side but his finger was still in the trigger. She tried to stay calm but she was feeling increasingly panicked. The gun was on the other side of the room so she had nothing to protect herself with. There was a splatter of blood on his right temple and his pupils were wide in the dim light.

And then she felt Flutter again and realized that although she was scared, she was angry too. She was tired and needed to talk to Danny and this asshole was interrupting an important moment for her and she didn't have the patience to negotiate. "I said get down and I meant it." She heard a door slam on the same level and knew she only had to hold him off for a minute or so before they were here. "You can surrender now, and I'll turn you over easy-peasy, or we can wait for the dog to find you. If I were you, I'd take option 1."

He scoffed. "I'm not afraid of a dog." But he did look over his shoulder toward the outer door.

"You're not escaping the building at this point so let me help you at least keep your life." She kept her voice level and calm. The last thing she wanted was for the man to panic and do something stupid. "I can help you. I'll guarantee you will not be shot on sight if you surrender now."

The man eyed her in her uniform. The skirt, which had been covered by her jacket in public, clung to her new curves. Her white blouse strained over her newly swollen chest too. She felt the crawl of his eyes with disgust. "Oh, you are going to help me." She had a feeling she knew what his plan was. "See, the way I figure, they are going to be mighty careful with the bullets around you." He confirmed her fear. She needed to take action before he did.

"You're forgetting that once you shoot you will give away your location and there is only one way out of this room. Now for the last time, put the gun down." Her voice came out far more confident than she felt.

He tipped his face up toward the ceiling showing her a scrawny neck and a thin scruff. "I'm the one holding the gun here lady. Besides, after what I've done, you're exactly what I need to get out of this mess."

She cursed herself for not keeping the gun in hand. "I don't need to know what you've done or what the problem is. Just," She gestured toward the floor. "get down now and I can stop them from shooting you." The barking sounded farther away now. They must have come down the stairs at the end of the hall. She felt a crazy urge to giggle as Flutter brushed her gently. The incongruity between her inner thoughts and and the situation was giving her whiplash.

The man took a step toward her, gesturing her toward the closet with his gun. "How about you tell me where to find some more uniform clothes so that I can walk out of here nice and slow?" He sneered at her.

Thinking she stepped toward the of the room with the closet and dresser, and also the gun under the pillow. She really didn't want to have to shoot the guy and she especially didn't want to have any kind of hand to hand fight either. But if she could just hold him off long enough.

"Stop right there!" He spoke impatiently. "I'm not stupid enough to let you go into the closet where you could have a weapon. Tell me where to find what I need to get out of here." She heard a door bang a little closer and his grip on the gun tightened. Flutter gave her a little soft nudge. She needed to act soon.

"You want the blues on the left side of the closet." She used the excuse of looking in the closet to step forward. It was just one step to the pillow over the gun.

The man lifted his gun to point at her as he turned his back and opened the closet door. "That's close enough" At this close range, he didn't even need to aim particularly well to hit her but the time had come to take the risk. As he pulled the NBD's off a hanger she quickly stepped back, glad for the soft carpet to hide her footstep and slid her hand under the pillow.

She raised the gun to aim at him. "Now I'm saying put your gun down."

He whipped back toward her and for a moment they both stood silently. Then he boasted. "I shot that doctor woman and I won't hesitate to shoot you if I have to." Rachel? He had shot Rachel? Her stomach clenched and she knew the first glimmer of real anger then. Once Flutter was safe, she was taking him down.

"You shot Rachel Scott, The woman who worked tirelessly for months to develop the cure?" Her voice sounded wavery to her own ears but her aim never shifted. On a rational level she knew why the immunes would do such a thing but emotionally she still felt a heavy press of disbelief.

"Shot her dead and you're next if you don't lower your weapon." She felt a moment of fear because she could see in his wild eyes that he really would do it. Well Flutter, she thought to herself, I can't let that happen.

The outer door crashed. "Kara?" Danny was calling for her and Halsey was barking and scratching at the door. The man must have flipped the security bar because there was a loud thud as they tried and failed to open the door. A few louder thuds, probably Danny throwing his shoulder against the door, echoed through the hotel room.

The man turned his greasy head toward the living space slightly but his gun and gaze never wavered. "See, I'm smarter than you think. They aren't getting in here." She heard Danny call for her again and Flutter wiggled. Just a few more seconds, she told him as the door went quiet.

"You know they are going to take you out when they either get in here or you try to leave." She warned. He looked between her and the door and seemed to be weighing options. At the sound of footsteps in the outer room he thrust and arm out toward her. That was her chance. She whirled her back to the closet and squeezed just as Danny rushed in through the connecting door between their living rooms. There was a loud crash which she later registered as a gunshot and suddenly the man fell backwrd on the bed.

She stood mute as two pools of blood rapidly stained the coverlet. The strangely neat little mark on his forehead left no question that, he was dead. It's OK now Flutter. See, Mommy and Daddy will keep you safe. She dimly recognized that Danny was pulling her into his arms as she let the gun fall to the floor. "Kara, Kara are you alright? Are you hurt?" People were streaming in behind him but she didn't pay any attention.

"I'm ok but, but.." She felt a little dazed but she was fine. She put her hand on her stomach. How are you doing in there? Flutter was quiet on the matter. She looked at the dead man one more time and then out of no where felt the overwhelming urge to cry. "OhmgoshDannyitwassoawesomeandthenthatasshole, sniff, interruptedand, sniff, Idon'tknowwhyI'mcrying, sniff, therewasthisflutter and…" She stopped babbling and started bawling the biggest fattest tears she'd cried in a long time. She knew she was scaring Danny because she never lost her cool and she felt ridiculous too, but she couldn't stop herself.

Danny's brows shot up in alarm. "Are you OK? Is the baby OK? I'm so sorry. Somehow he got down the stairs…" she nodded and patted his cheek but the tears kept falling and he clearly didn't believe her because he pulled her to the other side of the adjoining door and waved over Doc Milkowski. "Kara, just tell us what's wrong." She couldn't help it. The urge to cry was so strong that when she tried to stop she started to hyperventilate.

"Flutter. Sniff, sniff, sniff." She took his hand and held it to her abdomen.

Doctor Milkowsky looked between the two of them. "Is anything really the matter Kara?" He asked in a calm voice. She was still hyperventilating but she shook her head no. Danny's grip on her relaxed a tiny fraction and she felt terribly embarrassed for crying like a baby but her emotions were doing crazy things. Doc Milkowsky patted her arm. "Just as a precaution, sit and let me check you out." She nodded, still unable to talk, and let Danny sit her on the fur couch. Milkowsky checked her vitals with quiet efficiency and then nodded to Danny. "I think every thing's fine. You're just feeling the after affects of the excitement combined with pregnancy hormones. Get some sleep and you'll feel better. If you're still feeling shaky in the morning you can send for me." She noticed he didn't say Rachel and the tears began to flow again. She sat there and clung to Danny's neck continuing to cry until she was wrung out.

Over her shoulder she felt him wave off several people who came in, including Slattery. Finally she heard Milkowski say "Two shots. One head, one heart. Either bullet would have done the job on their own." They had saved Flutter together.

Mike stuck his head in. "She alright?" She left her head on Danny's shoulder while he nodded in response. "I can wait until the morning for your briefings." He shut the door between the rooms and the hubbub of people on the other side receded to a dim murmur.

After her sniffles began to grow farther apart he asked "What is this you're trying to say about a flutter?" Danny held her cheeks and wiped tears way with his thumbs.

"I felt him. And then that fucking asshole came in and I thought it was you because he had a keycard. Then I was so disappointed because Flutter was moving and I wanted to share that with you but he had a key to the inner room and I tried to keep him from shooting me and the whole time I just wanted him to go and.."

"Breathe Kara. Breathe." He pressed their foreheads together and she closed her eyes, slowing her breathing to match his. Feeling calmer and a little foolish she pulled back so she could see his face.

"I felt the baby move for sure this time." Danny's eyes widened in delighted surprise. "Really? Where? What did it feel like? You can't possibly know how jealous I am of you right now." He grinned like a kid on Christmas morning.

She met his smile and the world seemed a little less off kilter again. Taking his hand and holding it to her she said "Right here for a bit, and then over here, and then here."

His warm touch soothed her as he smoothed her wrinkled blouse against her skin. "Is he moving now?"

She stilled and held his hand against her, head cocked as if she'd hear it. But the baby was still now. "Nope. But it was amazing. Like the softest little tickle of a bubble, where I've never felt one before."

He stared down at her belly. "And that's why we're calling him Flutter? It's not a very manly name."

She ducked her head a bit in embarrassment. "He suddenly felt like a real person and I just felt so, I don't know, connected." She wasn't going to tell him she was talking to their baby already. It wouldn't do to confirm she was going crazy before they even got married.

He slid his arms around her and pulled her up to sit on the edge of the bed. "But why cry? This is a wonderful thing." She let him shift her because she never let anyone take care of her, but for once, she wanted him to. Must be those damn hormones again. He began undoing the tiny buttons of her other cuff and her heart contracted in gratitude. She barely had the strength to hold up her arm for that.

"No, I was crying because in the middle of it all I was thinking I would call Rachel after you came back. And then the jerk told me he shot Rachel." He nodded as he motioned for her to stand and he unzipped her skirt and bent to help her step out of it. "I didn't hear a siren." He sighed and stilled. Her hand was braced against the planes of his back for balance as he lifted one foot and she felt him hang his head toward his knees. "There won't be one, will there?"

"No." His voice was hoarse with sadness and regret. While they had been living it up, a good woman had died. And the very same man who killed Rachel would have probably killed her and Flutter once he had what he needed if Danny hadn't thought to sneak through the other room.

Silently they finished undressing and crawled into bed. As soon as they pulled up the blankets Halsey heaved himself up at her feet. She was half asleep, tucked up against warm skin, wondering how long it could be before Danny could feel Flutter too, when he spoke again.

"Kara." His whisper sounded loud in the dark.

"Mmmhum." She didn't even open her eyes. He was hugging her tighter than usual, Flutter sandwiched between them, but she didn't complain.

"From now on he stays with you." Flutter brushed the underside of her ribs and she gave a tiny nod, her chin dipping against the contours of his chest. She wouldn't argue about that anymore.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Girl Can't Help It

I got a new job today. Yay! It's actually the same job under a different title but it feels good anyways. I have no desire to move any higher in the food chain than I am already. Some kids want to grow up to be the astronaut, other kids want to design the shuttle.

**The Girl Can't Help It, Little Richard**

"Sir." Alisha knocked on the president's partially open office door. "I am here to set up for your first weekly address." Behind her, Val shifted uncomfortably, her eyes looking everywhere in the room except at the President.

The President had dark circles under his eyes and his shirt collar was oddly creased. It had only been a day and a half since Rachel's shooting and Alisha doubted he had slept much in that time. According to Kara, Michener, Chandler, and Judge Siskin had spent the entire day yesterday holed up in this office.

His voice was hoarse when he asked "How long will it take you to set up?"

Val's eyes snapped back toward the desk. "Do you still want this to be a live video broadcast?"

He nodded. "I suppose I do. Although right now I must look a fright."

Alisha set down the case holding the video equipment. When Michener had first come aboard the Nathan James she had been sure he was continuing to work for the Immunes. Although now she wasn't as sure, she was still a little wary. The man seemed so humble and so genuine that he had won her over on a personal level, even if rationally she knew she should remain objective. And in all honesty, in their position at the start of a long road to rebuild the country, the Secretary of Housing and Development wasn't a bad guy to have on your side. "If I might make a suggestion sir?" Michener nodded wearily. "It will take us about twenty minutes to get this set up. Why don't you go get a change of clothes and wash up while we do that."

"I think you're right. I ought to do that." He nodded to the two women. "Please, set up the video so I can sit at the desk, he pointed toward the large desk in center of the judge's chambers that he had taken over. "With the easel to my right visible on screen. I've got a few maps and charts to show."

"Yes Sir." She smiled reassuringly. Another thing Michener had going for him was that he was unfailingly polite, even when giving orders. It was almost as if he felt guilty for asking people to do things for him. As he quietly left the room, she wondered, not for the first time, what he had been like before the virus hit. After all, her mother had a similar level position but she'd certainly never been uncomfortable bossing people around.

After he left the room she and Val set to work. If she was suspicious of Michener, she was doubly suspicious of Val. Still, the woman did have some skills they could really use. "I'll get the camera set up while you work out the satellite link."

"Aye Aye Cap'n" Val mock saluted.

Alisha couldn't quite pinpoint why the woman irritated her so much. Perhaps it was because she was supposed to be so smart but had been so easily duped by the Immunes. Or maybe it was because she seemed to have such a disregard for authority. "I'm only a lieutenant." She tried her hardest to use the kind of stern look she remembered her mother giving her when she got out of line as a teenager. Her chest grew a little tighter at the thought of her mother and the words came out as a growl.

"Your wish is my command, Lieutenant." Val blew her an air kiss. Something about seeing her purse her lips, a twinkle in her eye nagged Alisha out of her anger and she couldn't help but clamp down the half smile that rose in response.

For a few minutes the only sounds in the room were clicks of equipment being assembled and the tap of computer keys. Once the camera was on the tripod and connected to the screen, Alisha asked Val to sit at the desk so she could get the camera focused and test the volume. Val, true to form, immediately put her booted feet on the desk, leaning back so her red dreads hung over the arm of the chair. "I wonder if he's going to tell everyone Rachel was assassinated?"

Jeff wet a paper towel with cold water and patted his face. A shave would go a long way toward improving his appearance but he didn't have time to go back to his apartment in the Radisson and do that. So, he sighed in relief as the cool water soothed his gritty eyelids, this would have to do. He'd need to remember to set up a space here in the courthouse for freshening it up.

At least he did have a spare shirt and tie handy. He began to strip off his crumpled clothes and toss them over the door to a bathroom stall. The bandages on his wrists had given way to a thin strip of tape to hide the ugly stitches there but it still made his stomach curdle to look at them. He couldn't even keep his own family safe, never mind everyone else's. He quickly shoved his arms into the sleeve of the new shirt and began to button the cuffs. One step at a time he reminded himself, one step at a time.

He looked himself in the mirror as he slung the tie over his shoulder. Lieutenant Granderson had been right though, he did look and feel better as he cleaned up. Still, sometimes when he thought about how much needed to be done to get the country back on its feet, he just felt like crumpling to the floor like a wet paper bag. How could he do it?

He was leaning over the sink, running over his speech in his mind when it struck him that the perfect test subject was just upstairs. He grabbed his dirty shirt and headed out the door with renewed vigor.

Tom was in his office leaning over a table full of maps with Lieutenants Mejia and Foster. When Jeff strode in he glanced at his watch. "Ah, Mr. President. Aren't you doing a broadcast soon?" Mejia and Foster stood at attention.

"Relax everyone, please." He doubted he'd ever get used to people treating him this way. He was just a guy doing a job. "I came up to talk with you about what I'm going to say."

Chandler glanced between Michener and the Lieutenants. "Would you give us a minute?"

"Yes sir" Kara nodded curtly "Mr. President." and headed for the door, Gator in her wake. As she pulled the door closed behind her Jeff felt Chandler's gaze once again.

"Having cold feet about your daily broadcast idea?" He motioned to a pair of chairs by the windows.

He only had to consider that a minute. "Actually no. That's an easy decision to stand by." And it was. The president used to give a daily media briefing at the White House. But this was the 21st century and it seemed time for a president who spoke directly to the citizens. And then suddenly it struck him why he hadn't wanted to make the speech he had planned this morning. He flopped into one of the chairs and leaned his head back, still speaking. "I've feel like it isn't enough to tell people to come to St. Louis for the cure and if they can't do that, to wait to find out where we'll deliver it next. We need to act faster, do more."

Tom's response was slow to arrive, his voice wary. "OK, what do you have in mind? Do you want to scrap the plans we made yesterday?" What did he have in mind? He wasn't sure. But he remembered with a flash the way people hugged and shook hands with strangers at the arch yesterday afternoon during the time Dr. Milkowski had designated for meeting and spreading the cure. That should be happening everywhere, not just in some special location.

"No, we need to push forward with the existing plans. Getting the country back on its feet is essential for security. But, we also need to commission a civilian corps to travel the country, spreading the cure as fast as possible. I want to ask people to volunteer, to receive the cure, a brief training, and be sent out again, to bring the cure back to their homes and neighborhoods, not just here in the middle of the country, but everywhere." He felt the urgency inside him and gripped the arm of the chair.

"Civilians sir?"

The idea had him now. "Yes. If we do this on military manpower thousands more people will die before we can get to them. The very first volunteers we will need are some people to run it. That's what I'm going to announce today. None of this dithering about tuning in tomorrow to find out where we'll be next." He sat up and opened his eyes. Tom was staring back motionless. "Who would you appoint on the military side?"

Tom rubbed a hand down the side of his face. "Logistics like this blow up into complicated operations fast. And..."

Jeff knew what Tom was going to say. He needed his people. Everyone already had a task. They'd spent all day yesterday sorting out the greatest needs and coming up with a plan to tour the country. And it was a plan he didn't want to abandon, but that plan was about government. This plan was about people. He briefly ran through the names of the people who had helped in his escape but when it came down to it, he didn't know their specialties and backgrounds.

"Lieutenant Burk." Tom was warming up to the idea now. "Carlton is excellent at logistics and planning for the unknown. I was intending to have him help Master Chief get a military recruiting program in place, but spreading the cure is the priority." Jeffery nodded. Yes, that was exactly what he needed. A healthy, young, strong person out in front of this program. "He'll need help though. Carlton isn't exactly a people person." Tom continued.

"What about Granderson?" Jeffery liked the young woman. She reminded him of her mother and a more strategic and intelligent woman he'd never met.

Tom shook his head regretfully. "No. If people connect her name to Baltimore they won't trust us. Miller is good. He and Burk work well together and he needs more leadership experience."

"Alright." Jeff nodded his head. "I like this." He meant it honestly. As soon as the idea had popped into his head he'd realized that the reason he'd been dreading speaking to the American people was that he didn't have enough to immediately offer them. He clapped his hands on his knees and pushed to his feet. "I feel better already. Thanks Tom." He extended a hand.

"No, Thank you Sir. For always thinking of a better way to serve the mission." Tom didn't look thrilled, but being the good soldier he was, Jeff knew he would make it happen.

Jeff headed back down the stairs, already forming a new speech in his head. His doubts were still there, but for a moment he really did feel like he had something worthwhile to offer.

Alisha peered around the viewfinder. "Knock it off. That's the President's desk!" she hissed. As Val begrudgingly put her feet on the floor Alisha continued. "He's got to be positive, for morale. And besides, it's probably best if he doesn't provoke whomever of your crony's are left."

"I've told you already, they were very convincing and I was scared and isolated." Alisha caught Val's scowl as she adjusted the camera. "So you think he is or is not going to tell people? Another way this could go is that he uses her death to spur an outcry against the immunes, essentially creating civilian pressure against them."

Alisha pondered that for a moment. "I don't think Michener is the sort of man who..." Val's eyes suddenly widened. "What?" Alisha turned and was startled to see that the President was standing in the doorway, one brow arched, arms crossed over his chest. In a clean shirt and tie, with his hair freshly combed he looked much more suited to the role of leader of the free world than he had twenty minutes ago.

She stood at attention immediately. "Relax, please, or at ease, or whatever it is I'm supposed to say." He waved a vague hand toward where Val was rising, albeit slower than Alisha, but still with her cheeks coloring a little at being caught in the President's chair. "I'm curious Granderson, what kind of man you think I am?"

She pondered for a moment as he crossed one leg over the other and settled more deeply against the door frame. "Ah, permission to speak freely sir?" She asked, a bit tentatively.

"Granted." He inclined his brow slightly but held her gaze.

She glanced at Val for a second. "I feel like usually I know enough about politicians to either love or hate them, but with you I'm not sure. I've looked up news stories about you and I see you've worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations. Your policies seem to have a strong element of fighting overt discrimination but they also seem to encourage gentrification of older areas which tends to economically exclude people."

He nodded but only said "And?"

"Well Sir, you haven't run for office so I don't know what you think about a lot of issues that matter to me, and that's a bit uncomfortable. From knowing you on the ship these past two weeks, you seem to be very people oriented. But I also know you were gullible enough to buy what the Immunes were selling..either that or you're pulling the wool over us all." She pressed her lips together and didn't say more, fearing he'd be offended by her candid appraisal.

But rather than be offended he just nodded again. She felt Val looking between the two of them uneasily and the silence became un-comfortable. "My job is to support you, which I will certainly do because I also trust in Chandler and others to act as good advisors, but I feel very unsure of where we're going as a country." She noticed he nodded to all her comments but neither smiled or frowned and wondered if he had an incredible poker face or was just prone to hiding his emotions.

"Well Lieutenant, what you have to say is all very fair." He turned toward Val. "What about you?"

Val looked up from her computer screen like a deer in the headlights. "Me sir?"

"Yes, you're a citizen of voting age so your opinion counts. What kind of man do you judge your President to be?" Alisha caught Val's panicked look and she noticed that Michener very deliberately relaxed his stance against the doorway even further. Perhaps he was acting a part after all. "Come on. How bad can it be?"

At that, Val sighed and ticked her head to the side. "OK well you asked for it." Alisha felt a frisson of alarm wondering what Val would say. Try as she might to understand her, she still felt like Val was as unpredictable as a teenager. "I suspect that in the past you only cared about partisan politics in so much as it got in the way of your assigned tasks. You've been the inside guy as you've risen through the ranks so I have no doubt that people liked working with you and you did a good job carrying out an agenda set by other people. But, I think you haven't stated your position on anything because you're a man who always sides with the winning team. You are obviously knowledgeable and intelligent, but you lack the spine and sense of cause that a President needs. You followed the Ramsey's because they were leading and because they told you what you wanted to hear. In short, you are a sheep in shepherd's clothing."

Alisha held her breath waiting for the President to argue against her or tell her to keep her criticisms to herself. For Michener's part, he withstood her forceful evaluation without any obvious reaction. Val sighed and shoved her hands in her pockets. "And I might be a bit of the same. I wanted to be remembered as a revolutionary, be a hero, so I bought into their crap too." She admitted.

Michener pressed his lips into a grim smile. "We all want to be better than we were before." He eyed both women. "Thank you for being honest with me. I suspect honest feedback will be harder to get the longer I stay in this role." He motioned for Val to move out of his seat. "Are we ready to film?"


	6. Chapter 6 - People Need People

Thinking about Val and Alisha's lunch made me hungry! Mmmm, mix a little rice with some stewed black beans, some wilted greens, a little garlic, and some bacon bits and you are in heaven, hot sauce optional of course. A few years ago I got interested in prepping, you know when people store food and supplies for some future apocalypse. Pinterest is full of lists of things people insist you need and plans for how to rotate supplies before they go bad. Some people spend small fortunes on MREs and camp food and then have to eat it before it expires. I tossed that idea out the window. My current plan involves some sealed buckets of rice and dried beans, plus wild greens, ramps, garlic, herbs, and mushrooms from my gardens...and all the bacon we can get our hands on until we lose refrigeration. So, in the event the Red Flu ever comes to pass...come on over to my house. We can live large farting it up around the campfire and making fun of the neighbors trying to reconstitute their little freeze dried packets.

**People Need People, Henry Townsend**

After they recorded and broadcast his address, which mentioned nothing about Dr. Scott's death but instead invited people to come to St. Louis and to volunteer for training to spread it as widely as possible, he left them to repack their equipment.

"You didn't have to insult the President, you know." Alisha couldn't help but glare at the other woman. "Like him or not, he is our boss now." She wondered how Val continued to get away with her behavior. It wasn't simply because she was a civilian, there was some reason that people let her say exactly what she was thinking without taking offense that went well beyond her unconventional appearance or obvious intelligence.

Val slammed the lid of her laptop shut. "You know what? You've been giving me the high and mighty treatment ever since I came onto the ship and I am sick of it." Alisha felt every pound of Val's hand against the desk like a blow to her midsection. "Yes, I made the mistake to follow the Ramseys. I was desperate and I believed what they said a little too easily. But you know what? I had other job offers. There are other enemies out there even worse than the Ramseys. So, I'm glad I went with them because in the end someone did defeat them and I got to live another day." She stood and began shoving cables into a bag. "I've forgiven my myself so that I can move on to something better in whatever time I have left. Maybe it's about time you figure out what you need to forgive yourself for so that you can do the same." She flicked her hair over her shoulder, grabbed the laptop off the desk, and stormed out leaving Alisha to stare slack jawed in her wake.

Alisha huffed to herself, not sure if she was more stunned or angry, or maybe a little excited? She pushed down anything other than anger, refusing to give any other emotions her attention. Clicking the latch on the camera case shut, she scanned the room to be sure she had cleaned up everything. Sure enough, there was a power cable running under the President's chair to an outlet. She stepped behind the desk and gathered it into a neat bundle, securing it with a rubber band.

Pushing in the chair she paused to take in the richly appointed room from this side of the desk. This was the official desk of the President of the United States now, sort of a new oval office. Her mother had wanted to be president one day but she'd always said she was born 20 years too early. "We've just barely had a black president and we've never had a woman president. This country couldn't handle someone like me, even if it was clear I would make all the right decisions and lead us to a better place." She remembered her mother saying that once. And when she had once asked her if she would run her mother said "No, the cabinet and councilors and judgeships are for the politicians with skeletons in the closet that keep them from being good candidates for elected offices. Our family's best hope is you. If you're going to break into that eschelon you'll need to beat them at their own game. An impeccable personal history, a military education, leadership experience, good looks, and the best speech writers my money can buy will get you elected. That and my connections of course. Don't you ever forget, baby girl, that I'm paving the way for you with everything I do."

She hung her head as her mother's words of long ago echoed in her ears again. The familiar old fear that she would ultimately disappoint everyone rose in her throat like the aftermath of a bad burrito. She'd let her mother think she would follow in her footsteps for so long. The only thing she'd ever defied her on was loving a woman. "Well," Her mother had even tried to fit that into her plans. "If you don't grow out of this phase, then I guess you'll be able to draw in more undecided gay voters too." She'd given up trying to argue with her long ago, never mind expressing what she really thought. Maybe that was why giving the President an honest opinion was so hard. She wondered if her mother was right though. The President would have never risen so far in ordinary circumstances.

She looked at the cord in her hand. Either way, she owed Val an apology. She replayed their conversation in her head. To be honest, she didn't disagree with much of what she'd said. And she had to admit it took courage for Val to fess up to the President that she'd chosen the wrong side.

As she carried the video equipment back over to the ship something kept nagging at her conscience. Something about what Val had said hadn't made sense. She lugged the camera case up the gangplank and found an ensign to check it back into the storage locker. "Did Val already return the cable assembly?" She asked the young man.

"Yes Ma'am. She just dropped it off. Hoping to find her in the wardroom, Alisha thanked the ensign and hustled down a p-way. She was in luck. Val was just sitting down to a plate of rice and beans. A few other officers were eating and acknowledged Alisha's presence. With only a skeleton crew on board during repairs, it was surprising how busy the wardroom always seemed.

"Any more of that left?" She figured a friendly tone could set the stage for an easier conversation. She was her mother's daughter after all.

Val looked up, her eyes widening when she saw it was Alisha. "You back to harp on me some more?" She took a large bite of rice, wincing when she found it was too hot.

Alisha sighed and took the chair next to Val. No easy entrance then. "No, You were right." She kept her voice low. "I have been so busy trying to make up for the last mistake I made, that I haven't trusted my judgment when it comes to you. I am here to offer an olive branch."

Val took a long sip of her drink and then paused, her cup suspended in midair, watching Alisha out of the side of her eyes. "What was that? I couldn't hear you Lieutenant." Her infuriating smirk caused a rush of anger to surge through Alisha's veins but she quickly fought back her urge to grab the cup and hurl it across the room.

In an even tone she replied. "You heard me." She raised a brow but kept the rest of her expression neutral. Val didn't budge. Fine, she'd give in on this but after that, it was no more nice guy. In a firmer voice she repeated her words from before. The two ensigns at the other end of the table were staring openly now.

This time Val set down her drink and turned in her chair to face Alisha more fully. "If you're looking for someone to keep you warm at night, save it. You're not my type." Ugh! Alisha wondered how she knew to push all her buttons so well. She wondered what it would be like to kiss that self satisfied …Goodness, where had that thought even come from?

"That's not funny." She fought to keep her cool. Better to get this business over with and get away from her before Val realized how close to the mark she might be. "I just want to know what you meant earlier when you said you had other offers, other job prospects. Who else wanted to hire you?"

Val leaned closer, ticking her head toward the ensigns at the other end. "That's not a conversation for here. Get a plate and if they are still here when we're done, we can go somewhere more secure." Unused to Val issuing orders, Alisha weighed her options. If she insisted Val told her now it could very well spread beyond the two of them which would be irresponsible. And she had no doubt if she insisted Val hurry up so they could take the conversation elsewhere the obstinate woman would probably take twice as long to eat, all the while staring Alisha down with those deep brown eyes that seemed to trap her whenever she found herself looking into them.

She pushed her chair back with a huff and gathered her own plate and a drink from the counter. Returning to her seat she tucked a napkin in her lap. Wordlessly Val passed her the salt and pepper and added hot sauce to her own rice. The smokey bacon flavor soothed Alisha instantly and she ate neatly and efficiently, doing her best to ignore the woman beside her. But the silence was almost oppressive and she found herself itching to talk.

Val finished scraping the hot sauce off her plate with what remained of her beans and pushed her plate toward the middle of the table, a pile of little bacon bits all that remained of her lunch. "Do you know how bad that stuff is for you?" She wrinkled her nose and stared at Alisha's near empty plate.

"What? It tastes too good to worry about what it is." Alisha squished a few beans with the tines of her fork and then scooped up a some greens to pair with them. "I love how Bernie cooks rice and beans."

Val rolled her eyes. "No, rice and beans are good. That's just about all I ate on the rig. It's the bacon. You know that stuff is basically dead animal fat rolled in salt, right? It's terrible for you."

Alisha couldn't help but smile then, but she didn't give in to the urge to defend herself. It seemed that Val was picking a fight with her just to avoid the silence. As soon as she started to feel full she laid her fork down neatly, took a final sip of her soda and rose. "The comms room will be quiet this time of day. Come on."

She led the way to the comms room. Most communication while in port was conducted over the regular phone or internet so she wasn't surprised to find it empty. Closing the door as Val swept in Alisha got a whiff of patchouli and.. She sniffed again. "Please tell me you haven't been smoking pot on the ship?"

Val grinned widely. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. It was just a spliff on the walk back from the courthouse. I highly doubt that's going to land me in jail these days." She slouched into a wheeled chair and began twirling first to one side and then the other.

"Those things will kill you faster than my salty sauce." Alisha stood with her hip against the table. She hadn't meant to attack Val again but the woman put her so on edge.

"You military people make me too uptight. The health benefits of the relaxation outweigh the risks." Val gave her a cheeky wink. "But it's sweet that you care."

"Arggg!" Alisha had never wanted to throttle anyone more, besides her mother. "Just tell me who else contacted you. We need to know who all the threats are and especially if there are other legitimate claims to the Presidency."

Val stopped twirling and put both feet on the floor, leaning forward on her knees. The woman who only moments ago had been engaged in some kind of passive-aggressive flirting was gone. In her place was the young scientist who had survived the plague alone on an oil rig while masterminding the Deadman communication network. "It's more a matter of what than who. These kinds of deals are never made face to face."

Alisha sat heavily in the chair across from her. "So you don't know who? What did they want?"

Val pursed her lips and waited a moment, as if she was deciding something. "Do you remember when the Internet first went public and chat rooms were all the rage?" Alisha nodded. "And everybody loved it because on the Internet you could be a totally different person if you wanted?" Alisha nodded again. Of course she remembered. She'd come out online two years before she had in real life. "Well, those kind of chat rooms still exist and they are still heavily used by the script kiddies and neophytes. But before the plague anyway, there was a whole other level for the real deal making."

"And you're on that level?"

Val raised a brow and pressed her lips together as if to say "Please." She continued. "The thing of it is, you aren't truly anonymous in that sphere. Well, people might not know who you are in terms of name, age, and occupation, but they know you by your work. Most of the jobs are negotiated through brokers who act like agents so that the foreign governments and companies can say they had no connection to the worker bees who do the actual hacks." Alisha nodded. Somehow it didn't surprise her that Val knew these things. "Well, a lot of work came through really fast in the last couple of weeks before the virus became public knowledge. People were being hired left and right to do things like hack the CDC, the WHO, and the ECDC. And the clients were all over, Russia, Israel, New Zealand, China..you name it. They were flooding the market with jobs. That was when I hatched my plan to get onto the rig because I knew something was up. I sold everything I had for a lousy boat and then floated around for two weeks before I got on that rig. My broker was supposed to meet me, but they never made it. Within three weeks, almost all the job offers dried up and the rooms went silent."

"Okay." Alisha narrowed her eyes. "But I still don't see what this has to do with other enemies."

"I'm getting there." Val huffed. "It sucked on the oil rig. It was lonely and I never knew if the noises and mechanical things were normal. I spent most of my time on the Internet but it was a mess. Servers were disrupted and whole countries went dark. The chat rooms slowly went down, one by one. I started waking up every morning and going through the remaining rooms one by one, looking for signs that anyone was still alive. And then, after nearly ten days of total silence there was a user I'd never seen before. I stayed dark so they didn't know I was observing. A few days later there were more new users. Many of them I could tell were newbies, but a few were experienced and probably had hung out in other corners of the dark web before the flu broke out. But they were taking these crazy jobs from the new guy. Hack into banks and move money, erase databases, not hard work, just stuff that was too public for the black market rooms in the past." She met Alisha's eyes. "I was so glad there were still people out there, but I kept silent, not wanting to give myself away."

Alisha nodded. She'd felt that way when they first approached the US coast in September. They needed to get out and see what had happened but that meant leaving the relative safety of the ship. "Then this new broker reached out to me specifically, said he'd known my friend who didn't make it to the rig. Initially he said he was a French citizen living in Montreal and wanted me to hack some European satellite. I took the job, although in the end I was pretty sure he wasn't who he claimed." Alisha watched amazed as Val swiped at one eye with the ratty cuff of her thermal shirt.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he slipped a few times and used some joual that a Parisian speaker would never use."

"You speak French?"

"Mhum. My mother's influence. She used to say that growing up bilingual was one of the reasons she thought I took to computer languages so easily." She sighed and hung her head. "There were other jobs like that, with dubious clients, that's how I got connected to the Ramseys. Initially I took their job because it was more than simply cracking, although the work was far from challenging. The game communication system was based on something I caught some students using to cheat on exams once."

She looked up from her knees and Alisha nodded. "I understand the lure of a challenge."

"Well, then I wished I hadn't taken the job because the Ramseys might have been sociopaths but they were good at business. They had me agree to a non-compete before they would explain what they were trying to do. They paid in 5000 dollar increments. There are other Immune groups around the world too. Groups the Ramsey's directed my way. Hopefully the contagious cure will shut that down quickly." She gave a closed lipped smile. "I was never interested in their cause really, just in remaining alive myself."

"But this other job, the one you should know about, came in from a user named EagleAztec. Offered me $20,000 to hack some government servers from both the US and Mexico to find out where a bunch of government people went into hiding. The fee was outrageous compared to the complexity of the job but they asked the broker for me specifically. I got suspicious when they wouldn't answer any questions. And when I told them all my time was already contracted and declined they told me we'd be in touch again.

"So you think someone wants to find government officials? That could be good or bad."

"Well in this case I'd guess it was not for good. Michener was on that list as well as Ross and Fournier who were numbers 10 and 13 in line in front of him. A newbie took on the job, passed on some info about Ross, and both he and Ross were dead a few days later."

She let that sink in. Someone was potentially tracking presidential replacements and possibly killing them. "Do you think it was Michener?" The question had to be asked and she was coming to realize that Val had a strong sense of right and wrong, even if she had a complete disregard for protocol.

"No. As much as I don't trust the guy, I don't think he's that cold blooded." Alisha nodded. She felt the same. She genuinely liked him as a person, even if she doubted his capabilities. She couldn't imagine him harming a flea. Val stood to pace the room. "Actually, I am almost 100% sure. I got similar offers, $20,000 cash each, no questions asked to get access codes for some Mexican military installations, to hack the California state tax assessor's accounts, and to set up a private network, like the kind a bank would use, between a number of western US and Mexican cities."

"And you didn't take any of the jobs?"

"No."

"Why not? 20K could have bought you a lot of supplies to stay out on that rig." It wasn't that she didn't believe Val, more that she didn't understand why.

"I've been hacking since my early teens. Believe me, Valkyrie is a very profitable business and money is not motivation for me anymore. And besides, it points to something bigger. All these jobs were in the same part of the country and the offers looked very similar. Same format letters, same system for collecting the money afterward. So I did a little digging about the usernames and IP addresses used to contact me and found out something very interesting. All the IP addresses originate at Fort Bliss, just outside El Paso. So I cracked their servers and found out what's what."

"You cracked the Army's secure servers?"

"Sort of. More like opened a backdoor I left unlocked a long time ago. And they aren't the US Army's anymore."

"Then who's are they?"

"They belong to the Mexicali Federation, or MCF, and they are currently laying claim to eleven US states and 15 Mexican states as a new nation." Alisha felt her blood start to thrum in her ears. What exactly was she saying?

"What do you mean a new nation?"

"I mean in the absence of the US and Mexican leadership much of the former Mexican and Spanish territory of the US is being claimed under another flag."

"Mexico?" She still couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could they not have known this? Why would people leave the US?

Val shook her head vehemently, the beads embedded I her dreads clacking in some together. "That's what I thought at first but no. It is claiming to be a new, independent country. I just figured this out yesterday and I'm still trying to piece together where and who and how it happened." Alisha strode rapidly toward the door, gesturing for Val to follow. But to her irritation, Val just returned to twirling in her chair. "Hey, where are you going?" Val's voice rose in alarm.

Alisha stomped back and grabbed her hand to pull her to her feet. "We need to go. We need to tell Chandler and Michener about this right now. And it can't be over the comm."

Val snatched her hand back, her eyes wide. "No way! I heard how Chandler got all Mr.-we-follow-the-letter-of-the-law with Dr. Scott even though everyone knew he loved her and that Borwegian guy had it coming. No way I am talking. If you tell him, I'll deny everything and few people in the world have the skills to get in where I did." She backed away, deeper in the room, shaking her head.

"You'll be bringing information forward to help the United States. It will be considered electronic warfare. They'll probably want to hire you as our one woman NSA." She extended her hand toward Val again. "Come on. You know I'm trust worthy."

Val stared at the hand for a long moment. Finally with a sigh she began to extend her own. Alisha felt a wave of relief. She would have informed Chandler herself, but this was big and they were going to need more information, information potentially only Val could get. Just before their palms met Val snatched her hand back a few inches. "I want your assurance that if it doesn't go well for me you will protect me. I'm the one taking the risk here. Somehow the MCF killed off the other worker bees and I intend to live to a ripe old age."

Alisha felt her eyes bug out. "You know I can't make that promise. I am an officer of the Navy!"

"No promise, no deal." Val crossed her arms back over her chest in a way that reminded Alisha of a small child. After a minute of staring into those brown eyes she realized that Val would never give in. If she had the will to spend months alone on an oil rig, she could wait Alisha out too.

"Fine." She extended her hand to shake on it and Val unfolded her arms to accept. "I promise to defend you as a citizen trying to help, if it comes to that."

"Good enough." They met eye to eye, hands still clasped. An unspoken agreement forged to look out for each other. "If this doesn't work out, I have no where to go. I'll be hunted by the Immunes and if the MCF figures out I'm the one who spied on them, I'll be toast." Val kept her hand in Alisha's and began leading her way toward the door. "Let's find Chandler and get this over with."


	7. Chapter 7 - Ain't Got No Home

I just finished listening to Disney's Yankee Doodle Mickey three times on repeat while I tried to get my youngest to ignore the bottle rockets going off in our neighborhood and settle down to sleep. I moved to the deep South in 2014 after spending all of my life closer to the Canadian border than the Mason Dixon line. Last year I spent what would have been our first 4th of July in the South in Belgium, so this is the first year that I'm really reflecting on how the 4th is different here in the South. I've been trying to decide if the things I miss about the 4th of July at home are just not as popular anymore or if it really is different here. Driving around town I noticed that people don't seem to hang flags on their porches here like they do in New England. My town always flew hung a 13 star flag over the road during the parade. The local parade here was lacking both the fife and drum corps and the tricorn hats that I associate with the 4th but instead there was a fantastic mounted cavalry unit in authentic 1880's uniforms. It makes me think it would be fun to travel to different places every summer and see how people celebrate differently.

**Ain't Got No Home, Clarence Frogman Henry**

Ray stood at the edge of the highway overpass and looked across the river toward the Gateway Arch. The rag tag group of kids scattered to cop a squat on any dry surface they could find under the overhang. They had spent the last two hours trekking across East St. Louis on foot and everyone was weary and impatient.

"Four days ago you gathered us up and you promised us you'd find us Captain Chandler, Ray." A girl with thick reddish braids whined from a perch under a steel girder. "I see the ship but it doesn't look like there's anyone there." Ray squinted into the fog. The ship looked deserted, but he suspected there were guards somewhere. He didn't know what he'd do if they didn't find Chandler here in St. Louis.

He looked over their group. He, Dylan, Brie, and Colin were doing OK but the younger kids looked beat. They may have been vaccinated against the Red Flu but that didn't mean they were invincible. One of the youngest in their little band, a six year old named Luna, was currently trying to suck thick yellow snot into her mouth. He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief but only found a crusty gross one. Sighing he swung his pack down and dug around, but the best he could come up with was a gym sock. "Luna, that's gross." He knelt to help the little girl wipe her nose. Folding the sock he tucked it in her sleeve. "Use this or you'll get a chapped lip again."

He took a seat on the edge of the concrete barriers and ran a hand through his dark hair. His stomach gnawed hungrily and he felt itchy and dirty from four days on the road. The people Chandler had trusted to help them had indeed taken them to a youth shelter in Baton Rouge, but conditions there had been bad. There was only one older woman left to watch nearly forty skinny kids and they were living off of forty pound bags of popcorn and juice boxes that had been passed over for more nutritious foods when the Costco was raided. By comparison, Ray thought his group looked pretty good.

They had managed to scavenge and stretch the MREs Chandler had given them for four days with the shelter kids. But on the fifth day of scavenging they ran into some kind of local police officer that tried to make them stay in the youth shelter even though there was no food there. "You kids need to stay out of sight. The MCF is enforcing a strict curfew for all unregistered citizens."

"Unregistered citizens?" Ray's accent had become more pronounced at the familiar humiliation he felt whenever someone assumed he was an illegal just because he was poor and hispanic. "I was born in Miami! Look at my license. I am a US citizen."

"Save it kid." The man refused to take the card Ray pulled out of his wallet. "That won't do you any good. This is MCF territory now." He refused to tell them any more as he escorted them back to the shelter. At first, Ray could hardly believe the things the woman at the shelter told them. She explained that she was too busy to care who governed them and he'd had to accept that they were telling the truth. The decision to move on to St. Louis was made unanimously that night and they hit the road before dawn the next morning.

Now four days later they were hungry, tired, and chilled from the morning fog. "Let's take a snack break and see if people are moving around." Ray pulled a box of granola bars from his pack and began splitting them in half and handing them out to the younger kids. They had found a little grocery store open near where they ran out of gas last night. The people there had said the cure was in St. Louis, along with the President and that they could get food and other supplies. He looked across the river. He saw people coming and going from the park on the opposite shore, but from here he couldn't tell if they wore Navy uniforms.

"Ray?" An eight year old girl with two crooked pigtails tugged on his coat. "I'm still hungry." Several other kids nodded. Of course they were, he thought, they were growing kids and they needed about twice as much food as they were getting.

He leaned down to be on her eye level. "I know Sadie. Do you remember what I said when we first saw the arch this morning?"

She nodded, the big brown eyes behind her glasses going to look over his shoulder at the Gateway Arch. "You said that when we found this rainbow there would be a pot of soup or something else good for us at the end and that we had to walk without complaining or the leprechauns would take it away."

"That's right. Now we're almost there." He stood, threw his pack over his shoulder, and reached out to pull her hood up over her forehead. "This is it. Let's shake a leg people." Sadie slid her little sticky hand into his and they all headed for the bridge that would take them on the final leg into the city.

"The President has called a meeting at 0900 tomorrow. I want you to be there." Chandler was leaning against the connecting door between his office and Kara's as if he'd just asked her to bring in some extra paper clips instead of meet with the President. She was still unused to seeing him in anything other than NBDs but was glad he'd decided his office would work in service blues because it meant she could wear a uniform with a jacket. Already she felt ridiculous despite the fact that the swell of her baby was barely visible to people who hadn't known how trim she was before.

"Sir?" she began to question. After all, she'd only been at this job a few days and she still felt a little unsure in her temporary role as assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations. "Do you want me to write notes or record?"

For a moment his face froze in confusion. Then he tossed his head back and laughed in a way she'd rarely seen since they learned of the Red Flu last September. "Hell no. You are one of the best tactical analysts I've ever worked with." She blushed under his praise. "I want you there to listen to what he has to say and help us develop a strategy to meet the mission. Now that we have learned about the MCF from Val, Michener has been working on deciding our military priorities for the near future. It will be us, Master Chief, Slattery, Garnett, Burk, Green, Judge Siskin, and Senator Findley at the meeting. And Halsey of course." He patted the dog's head as he headed for the coffeepot on the banquette across from Kara's desk.

"Ok. I'll be ready Sir." She felt a flicker of pride to hear her name mentioned in that group. She was constantly worried about how she could continue to contribute to the rebuilding effort now that she was on shore duty until after her maternity leave.

"What's on the schedule today?" He poured the aromatic coffee. The smell made her mouth water, but it also made her slightly nauseous. She hoped today was one of the days when he opened the outer window to let in some of the brisk January air. Although they had electricity up and running, the President had asked everyone to be extremely conservative because the local power plant was coal fired and they weren't sure if they were going to be able to source enough coal to last all winter. Slattery had already set up a civilian task force to develop strategies to help survivors cope but there was still plenty of work to do.

"Val and Mason are coming in at 0800 to discuss their progress on communications and monitoring the MCF. Lieutenant Commander Garnett will be here at 0900 for her update on repairs to the Nathan James and I scheduled the new city engineer...a Mr. Hinkley for the slot right after that. I though you could formally introduce the two since he's going to want to find out what emergency fixes her crew have done since we got here. He wants to talk to you about security plans and targeted reopening of city services so I invited Slattery to the meeting too. Hinkley thinks he could significantly expand the area being served by the water plant if he can get a little help for the next couple of weeks. And then I have left you free until after lunch so you can go see Dr. Milowsky on his efforts to get the mass production lab going over at the university. He insists that the best way to honor Dr. Scott's memory is to keep working on spreading the cure, of course."

As he had since Rachel's death, Chandler just ignored her attempt to bring Rachel up in conversation. He leaned back against the banquette as he sipped his coffee. "And I'm spending the rest of the afternoon with Master Chief and Lieutenant Burk discussing military recruiting and civilian training, correct?"

"Yes Sir. There's a folder with some materials to review before that on your desk. I also laid out the city map on your table for discussion with Mr. Hinkley."

"Efficient as ever!" He smiled easily. "You're handling this like a seasoned XO Foster." She was reminded why serving on the Nathan James was such a desired assignment. Chandler was well known as a good mentor. "If you want to go back to sea when you come off maternity leave, it's this kind of attention to detail that will.."

He never got to finish the statement as shouting sounded down the corridor. Halsey immediately started butting against her legs, trying to herd her into the inner office.

"Everyone wants to see Commander Chandler. Now, put the gun down and go back down to the secure area. The guard there will help you call to make an appointment. Go now, or I'll have to shoot you." The agitated voice of the upstairs security guard, who was usually posted at the top of the stairs, drifted in from the hall. Tom turned toward the door in alarm.

"Sir!" Kara just managed to grab his shirt sleeve. "You cannot go out there un-armed!" Her heart pounded wildly as she recalled the terror from the night of the inaugural ball.

He shrugged off her grip, but halted a few steps from the door. "You got a better idea Foster? I'm certainly not letting you go out there."

She crossed to her desk and opened the lower drawer. In the hall, the man could be heard pleading with the guard. "Please, I have kids to feed. Chandler's going to want to see me and to hear what I have to say." They had already had several people try to get past security to the President in their first week in St. Louis, but this was the first time someone had come looking for Chandler.

Withdrawing a pistol from under some files she passed it across the desk. He immediately picked it up and commented. "An A1? This isn't ours."

"My father's sir. Now be careful out there. This man could have valuable information to share." Chandler nodded and motioned toward the back office. She hated once again feeling like she needed to be coddled or protected, but she would go along without argument for Flutter's sake.

Only two minutes later Chandler knocked on the door. "All clear Kara." She was relieved to hear a note of humor in his voice when he said "It was friends rather than foes."

She poked her head out to see two teens sitting bashfully in the chairs in front of her desk. She took in Ray's scruffy, unwashed face and the heavy droop of Brie's eyelids. "Ray! Brie! What is going on here? And where are the rest of the kids?" she asked as she accepted her weapon back from Chandler and returned it to her drawer. Halsey greeted the kids with a swinging tail, forcing his head under Ray's outstretched hand.

"Baton Rouge, it was no good!" Ray exclaimed. The young woman next to him gripped the arms of the chair and nodded avidly. "There is a real food shortage there and once we shared the food you gave us with the other kids at the shelter, there was nothing else to do but leave." Ray's voice was rough with exhaustion.

Brie glanced nervously at Ray. "I know you said to stay there Sir, but the kids were so unhappy. It was a unanimous vote to come here." She pleaded with her eyes. "Please don't make us go back! If you still won't let us enlist until we're officially 18, surely we can find something to do for work so we can get paid and feed the kids? They depend on us now." Kara's heart constricted. Brie was just a kid, maybe 16 years old, and she shouldn't have these burdens.

She reached out and took the girl's hand in her own, noting how dirty her skin and clothes were. "It will be OK." The girl squeezed her hand tightly but looked to Chandler to confirm.

Tom was less comforting. Like a parent, relieved yet still angry that a rule had been broken, he scolded them. "It's still dangerous on the road! You could have been robbed or killed or worse! You shouldn't have risked the trip!" Brie hung her head while Ray and Kara watched him pace in front of the banquette in silence. The smell of the coffee and the tension were making Kara's stomach queasy. After a few moments Chandler sighed scratching his head. "Where are the other kids now?"

"Outside on the steps Sir." Brie glanced toward the windows, a nervous furrow between her brow. "I should get back to them before they go looking for food or worse, come looking for us. Some of them are quite scared to be alone after Baton Rouge." She began to rise. "Ray can fill you in on the rest." For his part, Ray swallowed hard but nodded in agreement with Brie.

Seizing her opportunity to get fresh air and to see for herself that the other kids were OK, Kara spoke up. "Sir, I'll take them to the mess and then see about getting some accommodations set up." Kara gestured to Brie. "Come on. Bring me to the kids and we'll see what we need to do."

The rest of the day passed in a blur as she scrambled to help Brie manage the kids. Once they were fed and set up in four hotel rooms she went in search of some toiletries and towels for them. After they showered she took their clothes to the basement and got them started in the laundry. Finding that half of their items were falling apart, she then took the group down the street to buy them some new items.

Although stores weren't exactly open, in the week since the Nathan James had arrived a market of sorts sprang up everyday along the sidewalks. Despite being fairly certain that many of the items for sale had been stolen from the surrounding shops, she and Brie bought at least one clean outfit per kid and she picked up a few other items to entertain the younger kids too. Along the way one little boy almost got hit by a car and another accidentally knocked over a rolling clothes rack. The icing on the cake was when she had to argue with a man that she should not have to buy his stock because Luna had not really scared away his customers when she sneezed near his table full of wrinkly fruit.

Finally, mid-afternoon she made it back to her room. Lounging on the couch while she and Danny shared their day she found herself bursting into tears. "It's only 3 PM and I am totally worn out. If this is what it's like chasing kids all day, I'm going to be a complete failure!" She sobbed. "I don't think I'm cut out for this."

He pulled her into his lap. "That was 14 kids Kara. And a crisis situation to boot. You will be great with Flutter." He rubbed her back while she dripped onto his shoulder and after a while it did help her feel better. Beneath her belly button, Flutter thumped and bumped around so she calmed herself by focusing on the feeling.

She had nearly fallen asleep when he said "Chandler sent Ray to come talk to me about training. Apparently he's going to let him train four hours a day but he's not to take on any duties until he's 18. Says we can do that with other kids who will be 18 in less than 4 months." He sounded discouraged rather than happy.

"I wonder what made Chandler change his mind?" It was a rare day when Tom Chandler changed his course without new information. "I left his office before Ray told him whatever happened in Baton Rouge." She recalled the mix of anger and fear in Ray's eyes when he'd told Chandler that they hadn't been able to stay there.

"It's real." His voice was so grim that she sat up to see his face. His jaw was firm and his brows pressed into a solid line. "The MCF isn't just a rumor or something being talked about online. They were in Baton Rouge and they were in control there. Ray said everything was very quiet, very low key in town, but they saw convoys with large artillery being brought into town as they were leaving. Sounds like the only reason we got past them is that they weren't monitoring the river yet."

The implication that they would be controlling river traffic now sank in her stomach like a brick. The MCF was more organized than she'd thought and they weren't just confined to the West. "We're the f-ing Navy and we're landlocked? It's incomprehensible!"

She got up to pace. "Did Ray have any idea of who they really are?" She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea of a group trying to break away from the United States. "I don't understand what the motivation could be. What do they gain economically or socially?" She wrung her hands. "I would understand if they were taking control as a new party, hoping to fill a significant number of spots when congress re-assembles, hoping to insert a new political agenda, but leave the US? It's incomprehensible!"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I do not think that word means what you think it means." She looked over toward where he sat on the couch, idly stroking one of Halsey's ears. How could he joke at a time like this?

"This is serious Danny!" She gave him a flat stare. "We're getting our intel from kids damn it! We need to start planning an operation to infiltrate this MCF's leadership. I hate to say it, but we're going to need to get people out there into their structure and you'll probably be one of them." She was on a roll now. She needed a pad of paper and a pen so she could start a list of the critical strategic questions and begin planning suggestions for Chandler.

"Kara come on. Let's not borrow trouble." He rose to his feet. "Tomorrow at the President's meeting will be soon enough to worry about these things." He glanced at his watch. "We've got about an hour before Bacon opens the dinning room and I have a watch at 7. I was thinking we could go downstairs, check out the hotel gym, and relax a little. Tomorrow's a big day and it will be good to release a little stress."

He took her hands in his and she felt a little tension melt away into his larger, warmer hands. It would be nice to work up a little sweat. "I suppose. I did see there was a Nordic Track and I love those things." She would go along. Working out was a good time to let her mind wander and do some creative problem solving. "Plus Flutter really wants to have some dessert tonight."

Danny's face split in a glowing grin. "Oh yeah? Flutter has developed a sweet tooth before developing teeth?" She giggled and they set about changing to workout. It wasn't until she had been swishing along on the skier for 30 minutes that she wondered what he meant by a big day tomorrow. And although she resolved to find out, she fell asleep immediately after finishing the cookies she smuggled up from dinner.


End file.
